Welcome to our April update, where we take you through what’s been happening Inside OUTpatients over the past month.
Roundtable on improving outcomes for younger people with breast cancer
On 17 March, we joined a roundtable hosted by CoppaFeel! to talk about the needs of younger women with breast cancer. The session brought together charities, people with lived experience, healthcare workers, and researchers to share ideas and point out gaps in support.
We discussed how to help more young people recognise the signs of breast cancer, including the importance of checking your chest regularly. We also heard from Clive Jones MP, leader of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Breast Cancer. He shared his own experience with cancer and explained why early detection is so important.
CoppaFeel! shared that more than half of breast cancer cases happen in people below the national screening age. Younger people often have worse outcomes than other age groups if their cancer is found late. Their survey also showed that only 1 in 4 people aged 18–35 check their chest regularly, highlighting the need for greater awareness on the issue.
Checking your chest is one of the best ways to spot breast cancer early. However, we know many trans and nonbinary people may feel uncomfortable doing this. That’s why we worked with CoppaFeel! to create a trans-inclusive guide to chest checking. This helps everyone to feel confident and comfortable identifying signs of cancer.
The Big Cancer52 Conversation
This month, we attended the annual Big Cancer52 Conversation in Manchester. The event brings together organisations who work on rare and less common cancers.
This year’s event focused on the National Cancer Plan that was published earlier this year. Together, we explored how the plan supports those affected by rare cancers, and how we could collaborate to bring the plan to life.
The event also marked the launch of Cancer52’s “No Cancer Too Rare” report. This report took a detailed look at at how recent policies have made progress on rare and less common cancers, and where there are further opportunities for change.
LGBTIQ+ people are at higher risk of certain rare and less common cancers. We also report worse experiences of care, and face barriers to early detection. It is therefore important that we keep feeding into these conversations, and make sure that new policies account for our community.
Prostate cancer campaign shoot
OUTpatients are currently working on a project to raise awareness of prostate cancer in trans women. This work aims to fill an important gap in information and awareness of prostate cancer, both among professionals and in the community.
We have been working with a focus group to learn what information is most helpful and how to share it in a clear and supportive way. As part of this project, we worked with marketing agency Mobas to film a campaign video. It features trans women sharing their thoughts and experiences of prostate cancer, and will be released later this year along with helpful information and training for healthcare workers.
Thank you to everyone who has helped so far – we can’t wait to share the campaign with you in the coming months!
Informing a new campaign on HPV vaccination
We are part of a steering group that is helping to develop a campaign to increase HPV vaccination among men who have sex with men (MSM).
HPV is a common virus that can be spread through sexual contact. It can also cause several different types of cancer in the head, neck, and genital regions. Men who have sex with men (MSM) are more likely to contract the virus, putting the community at higher risk of some cancers.
Increasing vaccination in this group is therefore really important in reducing health inequalities. As part of these efforts, we recently worked with West Yorkshire Cancer Alliance on a campaign to encourage more people to get vaccinated.
After its success, we’ve been invited to support another Cancer Alliance by sharing what we’ve learned. Our feedback and experience is helping to make sure the new campaign is effective, and reaches as many people in the community as possible.
If you’d like to work with us, please get in touch at contact@outpatients.org.uk.
Bringing you more education
OUTpatients regularly hosts training and education for healthcare professionals accross the cancer pathway. This ranges from screening teams, to oncologists, to CNS nurses. We have had great success with our webinars, and reached over 14,000 healthcare professionals in the last year!
We are now working with clinical partners and Guy’s Cancer Academy to create even more training opportunities. This will help us continue to provide specific, bespoke education, tailored to the needs of each service.
By helping healthcare workers feel more confident in giving inclusive care, we are working toward a system that better meets the needs of LGBT people affected by cancer.